Graves: American Small Businesses Need Action on Regulations, Not More Lip Service

Full committee hearing examines President Obama’s Executive Order requiring agencies to review regulations

WASHINGTON, DC— House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) today held a full committee hearing to examine President Obama’s Executive Order 13,563 and determine whether these plans will actually result in a meaningful reduction of regulatory burdens on small businesses. The Executive Order requires federal agencies to develop plans for retrospective review of all their regulations. The Committee heard from the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget, Cass Sunstein, who is responsible for overseeing compliance with the Executive Order.

“From 1978 to 2004, there have been seven separate reviews of existing regulations. But despite these reviews, the burden on small business has continued to escalate. In fact, the Code of Federal Regulation now extends to about 26 linear feet. It is obvious the past reviews have been ineffective, which greatly concerns me about the current Executive Order and whether onerous regulations for small businesses will actually be examined and discarded.

“It makes a great sound bite to say you’re issuing an Executive Order to review federal regulations. But American small businesses need action on regulations, not more lip service. We have over nine percent unemployment and 14 million Americans out of work, but small businesses—America’s best job creators— cannot hire more workers when they are being hammered with costly regulations and continued uncertainty. Small firms are the answer to bringing us out of this economic turmoil, but that won’t happen until government gets out of the way.

“As I told Administrator Sunstein in today’s hearing, it is easy to make things bigger and more complex, but it takes a lot of courage and a touch of genius to move in the opposite direction, and I hope this administration has that courage to eliminate burdensome regulations on small businesses so they are free to grow and create jobs that will help get Americans back to work and our economy back on track.”